May 7, 2020
We are honored to name Kameryn Sanchez, 3rd Grade Teacher at New Highland Academy in Oakland, as a 2020 Science Super Star!
Kameryn does not want other teachers to be intimidated by the thought of teaching science. Lessons do not have to be complicated to be impactful. “Students love to explore! Even simple lessons like dropping water onto paper was an excitement.”
She and her classroom used crayfish to investigate the phenomena of adaptations, and how adaptations are necessary for survival. The lessons consisted of observing their specimen, and taking detailed notes.
She encourages her students to regularly update their scientific notebooks, and they take pride in their work. It is often a helpful referential dialogue tool for discussions. Kameryn also incorporated a Word Wall in her classroom to help students in learning new vocabulary.
As an extra lesson, outside the curriculum, Kameryn used the crayfish experiment to start a discussion on native and non-native species. Students learned that they should not release their specimen to the wild. This was a way to engage her students by further relating their lesson to what they may have heard about before (human impact on the environment.)
Kameryn is strategic with her lessons, finding ways to relate them to her students’ lives. After a unit on soil composition and properties, students took what they learned to apply their knowledge in garden class.
She also often incorporates math in her class experiments by having students compare and graph data. It is a helpful practice that turns math theory into something tangible, especially as students work to extrapolate from their results. She notes that her school has centered the curriculum around science, and that many lessons have cross curriculum connections.
This holds great impacts on students who may otherwise have difficulty with other subjects:
“One of my students has a great difficulty writing and our English classes leave him feeling frustrated. He’s a wonderful scientist and loves to experiment.”